Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Kelly Services has been upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating, reflecting increased confidence from investment analysts.
• The company's stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" with an average target price of $25.00, according to Barrington Research which reiterated its outperform rating.
• Kelly Services reported earnings of $0.54 EPS for the last quarter, matching consensus estimates, but the company experienced a negative net margin of 0.14% despite generating $1.10 billion in revenue.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Sunday.

Separately, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Kelly Services in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Kelly Services presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $25.00.

Kelly Services Trading Up 3.0%

NASDAQ:KELYA traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $14.34. 292,592 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 264,985. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market cap of $505.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -71.70, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.89. Kelly Services has a 52-week low of $10.80 and a 52-week high of $22.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.61.

Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Kelly Services had a negative net margin of 0.14% and a positive return on equity of 5.65%. Kelly Services has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Kelly Services will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Kelly Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. Kelly Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -150.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kelly Services news, SVP Daniel H. Malan sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.24, for a total transaction of $142,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 95,281 shares in the company, valued at $1,356,801.44. This represents a 9.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 48.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KELYA. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kelly Services by 2,251.9% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,095,238 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,268,000 after buying an additional 1,048,670 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Kelly Services in the 1st quarter worth about $8,739,000. Royce & Associates LP bought a new position in shares of Kelly Services in the 1st quarter worth about $5,947,000. CSM Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kelly Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,807,000. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kelly Services by 567.8% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 350,849 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,891,000 after buying an additional 298,310 shares during the last quarter. 76.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Kelly Services

Kelly Services, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides workforce solutions to various industries. The company operates through five segments: Professional & Industrial; Science, Engineering & Technology; Education; Outsourcing & Consulting; and International. The Professional & Industrial segment delivers staffing, outcome-based, and permanent placement services providing administrative, accounting, and finance; light industrial; contact center staffing; and other workforce solutions.